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Summary: Great Adaptation of Vonnegut's Classic
Review: George Roy Hill's direction accurately conveys both the plot and feel of Kurt Vonnegut's Sci-Fantasy masterpiece. I am actually quite surprised that there are so few reviews of this fine film. The underlying themes are almost too numerous to mention: the senselessness and horror of war, the illusory nature of time, the rites of adult passage, the delusional quality of American suburban life in the '60's, etc., etc. The film is also an eye-opening exposition on one of the dirtiest secrets of World War II - the utterly unnecessary and senseless annihilation of the city of Dresden, Germany, and over 100,000 lives (mostly civilians) by the Allies at the end of the war. The central character of the film is the sadly sympathetic Billy Pilgrim - a smiling, good hearted fellow forced to experience the worst depredations of existence who never truly finds happiness - until the other-worldly Tralfalmadorians transport him to a distant world to be with the woman of his dreams in a gilded cage. Billy, however, being "unstuck" in time, is never a prisoner on the Planet Tralfalmadore; rather, he endlessly flashes forward and backward in his life history, reliving his life (and death) in one amazing (and frequently hilarious) scene after another. The casting and peformances are uniformly excellent - a MUST SEE for any avid connoiseur of film.
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Summary: "Could we have the 'night canopy', please?"
Review: George Roy Hill's vastly underrated and often misunderstood 1972 sci-fi classic is available on DVD at last (or once again...I have never personally seen an available copy of the purported first DVD release-it must have gone out of print rather quickly). Hill does an admirable job with Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s "unfilmable" story about Billy Pilgrim, a quiet and somewhat milquetoast Everyman (Michael Sachs) who has become "unstuck in time"; living/reliving random moments of his life in a kind of eternal "shuffle play". Without giving too much away, I'll just tell you that UFO's, WW 2, a sexy B-movie queen (played by Valerie Perrine-oh my!), suburban Americana, Zen philosophy, time travel, the End Of The Universe and intergalactic zoos all enter the mix, and believe it or not, it all makes perfect sense. In the hands of a lesser director, this type of risky book-to-film could have been a real mess (a la the most recent Vonnegut-to-screen "Breakfast Of Champions"). Hill manages to pull it off with the same class and finesse he would later apply to the equally 'unfilmable' John Irving story "The World According To Garp" (F.Y.I.-Hill's resume also includes "Butch Cassidy", "The Sting", "Slapshot" and "A Little Romance"!). The 2004 DVD transfer features a crisp widescreen picture and passable mono audio (no "extras", but I would suggest reading the book as an "extra"!) A must-have for fans of cerebral sci-fi.
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Summary: The book is much better
Review: I bought this movie because I had read the book by Vonnegut and it dissapointed me. Although the escence of the book is there, there is no point of comparison. I gave it three stars because the acting is good (Sacks is esp.funny), but it's not a movie I want to watch more than two times.
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Summary: embrace eternity
Review: I enjoyed this film treatment of Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5 very much. I read the book recently, having merely skimmed it for lit class in highschool many many years ago, and found the book poignant, disturbing, and likeable in the way an old pair of shoes is likeable. The video is true to the book, and conveys the same emotions. The video is however, not as dark as the book. This may be a good thing. The edition of the book that I have has an epilogue by Vonnegut, in which he realizes he had taught many people to be cynical. He had not intended to do this. The ending as shown in the movie carries the Tralfamadoran theme better than the book does and allows us to as the Tralfamadorans do, to focus on the good. I do not think this movie is overly 70's political. If it makes some people uncomfortable to view history as it happened, I suspect the author intended them to be uncomfortable, perhaps hoping to prevent another attrocity like Dresden. The special effects are invisible and let the story carry the story. Three cheers and five Stars for Slaughterhouse 5.
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Summary: George Roy Hill's Forgotten Masterpiece
Review: I first saw this film on television in the late 1970's and found it stunning. Over the last twenty years or so I have returned to it time and time again a bit like Billy Pilgrim, the central character, who re-visits his past and travels forward in his future. I was once able to see it in a cinema and even with a badly scratched print it's qualities were still apparent. Now it is available on DVD and I have fallen for it once again.George Roy Hill, the film's director, works best with a broad canvas and he certainly has one here as this film deals with the madness and chaos of war and in particular the distruction of Dresden at the end of the second world war. The horror of post traumatic stress and the even more horrorific way that it is treated is also vividly portrayed; this contrasts with the domestic "honey I'm home" style domestic blis that Billy experiences in 1950's New England. Add to this Billy's escape from a plane crash and being kidnaped by aliens to be an exibit in an intergalactic zoo along with his faithful dog, Spot and a porn star and you can see how varied this film is. It is all shot with a surreal clarity, especially the snow scenes at the start of the film, which I enjoyed far more than the muddy browns of "The Sting" that George Roy Hill also directed at about the same time. The mock-Bach music also enhances the drama and gives the whole film a touch of class while it also highlights the comedy but in the end it is the convincing peformances from the actors especially Michael Sacks in the central role that make the film such a delight. To the one reviewer who was disappointed that this was not a slasher movie, I'd venture to suggest, that if the hundreds of thousands of dead bodies in Dresden killed in the most horrific of cercumstances was not enough for them than their apatite for death must be impossible to satisfy. Almost thirty years after this film was made it still has the power to engage and has an important anti-war message to make. It is a tragady that the film is not better known than it is; see it if you can.
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Summary: A good and Confusing Film
Review: I found this movie to be very confusing, in the ways in which it jumps back and forth, but that doesn't mean it is a bad thing. I like movies that really make you think, and this one certainly does. The death of Billy Pilgrim is the best, because it happens the very way a man tells him it will. After seeing the movie a few times, I realized who his killer was, and laughed. A beautiful movie.
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Summary: All time Favorite
Review: I know this film was panned by most critics, and in the main remains missunderstood. I will admit to being a heretic and say that this is my all time favorite film. No I have'nt read the book, but I'm not reviewing the book, I'm reviewing the film. I have viewed this film at least a dozen times and I still don't tire of seeing it again. At the most supperficial level it is extremely entertaining and displays mastered story telling techniques that are widely used today, such as non sequential chronology. If you want to scratch beneath the veneer, then there are many issues covered and many stories told. I suppose there are faults with this film as there are with all films, but I view them through rose coloured glasses. My compliments must go to the director firstly and the cast secondly (a fine ensemble). For those like-minded viewers out there please enjoy. For those who don't enjoy this film, I feel saddened that you don't get the same joy.
Rating: 
Summary: our mind
Review: I think this movie depicts how our minds go back and forth to our memories. As you can see Billy Pligrima unstuck on time and he lives now but at the same time he lives with past, present, and perhaps the future as well. It well written and made out as a movie. It is a post modern approach to the viewers of up coming generation. It is a great movie but you might read the book first and watch the film.
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Summary: My review of SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE by Dr. John R. Baker
Review: I watch A LOT of movies and even review movies online as a hobby. This film is my very favorite movie of all time (and after 46 years of living, that says a lot). Vonnegut to me, uses Billy Pilgrim as a virginal character (although in the film he does produce two children with his wife). He is like an innocent who goes through world war II and tries to avoid doing harm. As a result of a misunderstanding while a prisoner of war, he makes a lifelong enemy. We see Pilgrim's life process..his ups and downs, and his otherworldly adventures and in this movie, we are shown a new way of experiencing life...as the Tralfamadorians say..the secret to living in a crazy world is to concentrate on the good times and ignore the bad. If I only had one movie to watch on a desert island..it would be this one. Two thumbs and five stars all the way!
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Summary: Overanalysis aside -- this movie's tripped out -- 'nuff said
Review: I won't beat the critique of this movie like the above reviewers to death. I'll admit, I haven't read K.V.'s novel, however, I do know that the movie is very ingeniously put together. The time warps and flashbacks are so well arranged that I'm never confused. The whole alien incubator part is hilarious. If you're a fan of "cult classics" and tripped out movies, this is a great selection. I was very reluctant to give back my ex-boyfriend's copy, and since it's a bit hard to find in stores, I came to Amazon.com to get my grubby little mits on it. I can't wait to see it again!
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